Japan's Kishida makes surprise visit to Ukraine, meets with President Zelensky

March 21 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit to Kyiv to visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday to talk about the reconstruction of the war-torn country as Russia continues its invasion.

The Japanese foreign ministry said Kishida, who is set to host the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May, would look to convey that Japan and other G7 nations maintain their "solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine" while also "firmly rejecting Russia's aggression and unilateral attempts to change of the status quo by force" on the surprise visit.

Kishida was the lone G7 leader who had yet to visit Ukraine. It also marked the first time since World War II that a Japanese prime minister had visited a country where fighting was taking place.

"The situation in Ukraine and support for the country will be a major theme at the G7 Hiroshima summit," ruling Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi said. "It is of great significance that Prime Minister Kishida will visit Kyiv and hold talks with President Zelensky to directly confirm the situation on the ground."

Kishida traveled to Ukraine on the heels of a visit to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kishida flew into Poland from India using a chartered plane instead of the standard Japanese government aircraft before he was seen boarding a train to cross the border into Ukraine.

Japan has become more military-focused under Kishida since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In January, he announced the government would seek to raise funds to double defense spending to $328.8 billion, or 2% of GDP, over the next five years, in line with NATO member countries.

In recent months, Japan has signed agreements for disaster response and military drills with the Philippines, Britain and Australia.

Kishida's trip also comes while China's President Xi Jinping is visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where the two are holding a second day of talks on Tuesday.